Changes

The story is uplifting, in a very powerful way. There are so many thoughts and ideas within it about family, and what that means and where a family comes from, and about the transformative power of love, exhibited not just in the changes Ada experiences, but also in how Susan changes as she takes care of Ada and Jamie and grows to love and understand them. On meeting Susan we learn that she previously had 'a good friend', Becky, who had died, and this has left her bereft, lonely, and struggling with depression. Her story is also moving as we watch her face her depressed periods when the children are there with her, and we see how they all begin to deal with each other's broken histories. There is one moment, when Ada simply cannot take the emotion any more, and she suffers a sort of episode, screaming and thrashing out and unable to control herself. I cried myself as I read of how Susan wraps her up, tight, so she can't hurt herself or anyone else, and then just holds her, tight, all night. But even with all this sadness and emotions running high, there are lots of moments of humour throughout the story, as well as elements of adventure, with Ada teaching herself how to ride Becky's old pony, gaining freedom from her crippled foot as she rides across the countryside. I used to be a big fan of horse stories way back when, so I also enjoyed this aspect of the story. There's enough horsiness to make you feel like getting a pair of jodhpurs on, but not so much that it would be off-putting for those who would rather sit down to start a new session on Minecraft.

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